The Edge -- Published April 16, 2014

With just more than a week to go before the annual Stockton Asparagus Festival (April 25-27), here are a few facts about your favorite "spear" from the website www.asparagus-lover.com.

The Record

With just more than a week to go before the annual Stockton Asparagus Festival (April 25-27), here are a few facts about your favorite "spear" from the website www.asparagus-lover.com.

» Asparagus comes from the lily family (liliceae) along with the onion, garlic and tulip. According the Encyclopedia Britannica online, there are about 300 species in the asparagus family around the world, including more than one poisonous species resident in Africa, which are prized as ornamental plants with red berries.

» Purple asparagus is a variety (or more accurately a number of varieties) of asparagus. It tends to be sweeter than the green spears because of a slightly higher sugar content. As a result, it is often good eaten raw in salads. The higher sugar content is not sufficient to leave you reaching for your calculator to count the calories. Purple asparagus is still a good, healthy, low-calorie vegetable.

» Studies have shown that not everyone produces urine with that distinctive asparagus urine odor and that not all those that do produce urine with this smell can smell it. But the figure is about two-thirds of the population for both categories.

» White and green asparagus can be purchased canned, although the "can" is sometimes a glass jar. White asparagus is sold in this form widely on the continent and especially in Germany. It is less common in the United Kingdom.You might find them hidden away on the top shelf in the supermarket or in a local delicatessen, or online.

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